Tuesday, 21 September 2010

353 CINNAMON SMITH, Ish, Reading Alleycat "Live", Tuesday 3 June 1997

You're going home in an organised gigging coach etc. etc! I was persuaded by Tim to go to this one as his "other" band Ish were supporting new Swindon hopefuls Cinnamon Smith, so I took a book and hopped on board! Met Tim at the venue and hung out with him and his posse. The gig was very sparsely populated and seemed made up almost entirely of the coach travellers, a point Ish's vocalist made early on in their set. Tim's a mate and all, but this band were frankly rubbish; a non-descript set of jangly shambolic indie-wank ten years out of date; the DIY likes of Mighty Mighty leapt to mind. Hmmm. Tim seemed almost embarrassed at this tame fayre, as he shrunk off stage right, but later informed me this was disappointment at playing to just a Swindon crowd, rather than the big audience that his dream of playing At! The! Alleycat! Live! had suggested.

Anyway, The Smith came on at 10.30. They're pushing themselves hard on the London circuit and have tightened up their sound considerably since I last saw them. This set of agit-poppy, choppy new wave thrash, a la early Wire and XTC, was good in places (notably the set closer "Revolve") but still needed the quality control axe to be wielded in places. A good performance, however, from the wild-eyed guitarist/ vocalist.

After that, thanks to a timetable cock-up, we had to wait an hour for the coach, so I didn't hit the hay until 1.30. D'oh!